Self managing the entire recruitment process is time consuming and expensive.  Following are some points to consider when decided whether or not you should outsource some or all of your recruitment processes.

Are you able to write, post and manage job ads every two weeks to ensure maximum reach?

If applicants don't see your a job ad, they can't apply.  For highly competitive roles it may be necessary to re-post your job ad more than once a month. This process requires someone to be tracking the performance of the job ad constantly and then making adjustments as required. 

Outsourcing Solution  - we monitor job ads daily and ensure that they are always getting maximum exposure and maximum applications.

Are you able to process candidates within 48 hours of application to ensure the best are not grabbed by other employers?

The best candidates are snapped up quickly.  Many managers, due to other business priorities, will not commence screening for days or weeks after placing an job advertisement.  If you delay screening and phone interviews, many of the strongest candidates may already be interviewed or even placed by another employer.

Outsourcing Solution  - we have dedicated and experienced recruitment staff screening and interviewing on an ongoing basis.  This ensures that great applicants are entered into the recruitment process for our clients before being lost to another employer.

Do you consider the preliminary screening of candidates an optimal use of your management time?

Thanks to the internet it is now very easy to apply for a job.  As such, there are now many more applications for a role than there would have been in the "ink and paper" days.  Screening the obviously inappropriate applications is now a time consuming process that either requires expensive "manager" time or the need for additional recruitment staff and processes.

Outsourcing Solution  - outsourcing screening and phone interviewing will ensure that your managers can stay focused on higher level business issues without compromising the recruitment process.  Sales targets can continue to be met while we run the initial stages of your recruitment process in the background.  Your manager only needs to step in when there is a quality candidate ready to be interviewed.

When down a sales consultant, are you likely to find yourself juggling sales appointments with the recruitment process?

If would be common for many sales managers to be drawn back into doing more selling when they are down a sales person.  This can have the double impact of compromising the sales results by reducing "sales management" time and compromising the recruitment process.  Compromising the recruitment process will mean it takes longer to find a suitable replacement - causing further loss of sales.

Outsourcing Solution  - ongoing pro-active recruitment should mean that you are able to maintain a complete sales team at all times.  Even if there are gaps, the recruitment process will move faster with dedicated resources.  There should be more sales during the recruitment process plus you'll also be back up to full steam sooner.

Where recruitment waits for the crisis, are you at risk of employing out of necessity rather than suitability?

When management is stretched with the conflicting priorities of maintaining current sales whilst recruiting replacement staff there is always the risk than an unsuitable candidate will be placed to fill a role.  This can then lead to a continued downward spiral in terms of sales results as an unsuitable candidate will usually place additional burden on a sales manager with regard to training and support.  Ultimately, a poor placment will just result in higher staff turnover and then more recruitment time and cost.

Outsourcing Solution  - with a steady supply of quality candidates, there will be less risk of placing staff to just fill a gap.  Staff can be selected for their sales skills and the value they will add to your sales team, not just because they are available to start.